From the author: The material differs from the printed version All about Orthodox psychology on psyheo.by “The mother of all virtues is prayer: it can not only cleanse and nourish, but also enlighten and is able to make those who sincerely pray like the sun. » (St. Nilus of Sinai) Oh, prayer, God’s priceless gift to man for curbing a fussy mind that is in constant movement and search. Oh, prayer, a wonderful means of establishing a close connection between the human soul and the breath of God, as the Source of life and bliss. Oh, prayer, the perfect tool for correcting the mind and cleansing the space of the soul to accept the grace of the Holy Spirit, can we, enslaved by egoism and staying on the plane of the rational-pragmatic mind, touch with our minds your intimate contemplative spiritual secrets? Yes, we can, they answer in the affirmative The Church, Holy Scripture, patristic tradition and the centuries-old tradition of Orthodox monasticism in which the technique of prayer was honed and brought to the perfection of direct and immediate contemplation of God (vision of God). What is prayer, as a gift, a means, technique and technology of communication with God from the point of view of the paradigm of moral- oriented Christian psychology and is it possible to talk about prayer in the language of psychology? “Prayer is the ascension of the mind and heart to God, the contemplation of God, the bold conversation of the creature with the Creator, the reverent standing of the soul before Him, as before the King and the Self-Life [Source of Life], the giver belly [life] for everyone; oblivion for him of everything around us, food of the Soul, air and light, its life-giving warmth, cleansing of sins, the good yoke of Christ, His light burden. (St. John of Kronstadt, On Prayer, 4) Let us leave aside all the naive ideas of the rational-psychological mind that prayer is an ignorant-instinctive appeal of a dense “primitive communal man” to certain abstract and mystical forces of nature in an ignorant search for protection and consolation . Today it is already reliably known that the need for spirituality (faith) and corresponding practices for strengthening faith and fortitude is one of the natural and basic needs of a person, regardless of whether he realizes it or not. Science already has irrefutable evidence that on our planet To date, not a single non-spiritual or non-religious culture has been identified in which there would be no one or another idea of ​​​​the spiritual world and spiritual reality, including ways of addressing them through prayer. This tells anyone who thinks that prayer, as a tool created by history and culture - this is not at all a primitive “invention” of a dense and ignorant person, but a natural way of satisfying one of the urgent needs of life, which was originally laid down in the very foundation of human existence, only not physical, but mental and spiritual. What exactly is the reason for this mental-spiritual existence? spiritual need and what its mechanism is - these are separate questions that we will touch on a little later. First, let's look at the very concept of prayer. The word prayer itself comes from the ancient Slavic verb to pray, which is associated with such meanings as soften, grind, refine, pound, grind, etc. Among the close and related meanings of the concept to pray one can find such as "modliti" (Polish). or “molditi” - (lit.), “mildi” (Sax), “moliti” (Slovenian), etc., which literally means to soften, refine i.e. to make more flexible, kinder and softer from “mild” (English) - soft. The object of “softening” is naturally the human soul as part of its three forces (mind, feelings, will), and the result of prayer is a change in the state of the soul and its forces in the result of prayer practice. Thus, the meaning of “softening” during prayer practice relates to the entire human system (body, soul, spirit), but most directly concerns the state of the soul and its three forces(mind, feelings, will). What can those changes be associated with, as a result of which “softening” occurs, i.e. increasing the transformability of the system practicing prayer? Speaking about the soul, we can say that these changes concern, first of all, the orientation and direction of the main forces of the soul - mind, feelings and will, i.e. the entire cognitive sphere of a person, which, under the influence of prayer, somehow changes its properties. We are talking about the fact that under the influence of prayer, all three forces of the human soul (mind, feeling, will) for some time, in some completely incomprehensible way, change their everyday and flat “horizontal” orientation to “vertical”, i.e. God-oriented. As a result of this, the soul is, as it were, synchronized with God and, depending on the strength of prayer, receives a portion of divine breath or grace. As a result of this acceptance of grace, a natural ordering of the mind, feelings and will occurs, which is felt by a person with clarity of mind, harmony of feelings and calming of the will. Thus, behind the action of prayer there is not some far-fetched ritual or mystical cult, but a completely specific psychological a mechanism for changing the qualitative state of the mind, feelings and will, which pursues not an abstract, but a concrete and practically significant effect of changing the quality and state of the entire cognitive sphere. The meaning of this mechanism is “verticalization”, i.e. changing the usual orientation of the forces of the soul to obtain a very specific effect, which can be defined as the effect of accepting the grace of the Holy Spirit. In this regard, the wide prevalence of prayer practice, which in one form or another is reflected in almost all world religions and spiritual cultures, allows us to say that that this mechanism of transformation and qualitative change of the soul (cognitive sphere) is completely objective and fundamental in nature. The difficulty of fixing this mechanism is due to the fact that it relates to the subtlest matters of the human soul, as a system of conductors of created and uncreated divine energy, and therefore not can be recorded instrumentally, but can be felt sensually and supersensibly. Today there are a huge number of guesses and assumptions about this amazing mechanism, from mystical to those with a “quasi-scientific” justification. However, the essential side of the effect of prayer, related to supernatural knowledge, still remains a great mystery and mystery for science and all modern natural science. For a deeper and more essential understanding of this issue, let us turn to the patristic tradition and the statements of the holy fathers about prayer.” That prayer is the basis of every good and contributes to the achievement of salvation and eternal life is absolutely known to everyone;” (St. John Chrysostom, On Prayer, Homily 2) “Prayer in its quality is the abiding and union of a person with God; in action, it is the affirmation of the world, reconciliation with God, the mother and at the same time the daughter of tears, propitiation for sins, a bridge for the passage of temptations, a wall that protects from sorrows, contrition of battles, the work of Angels, food for all bodiless, future joy, endless work, source virtues, the culprit of talents, invisible prosperity, food for the soul, enlightenment of the mind, an ax to despair, an indication of hope, the destruction of sadness, the wealth of monks, the treasure of the silent, the taming of anger, the mirror of spiritual growth, the knowledge of prosperity, the discovery of the spiritual structure, the harbinger of future reward, the sign of glory. The prayer of the one who truly prays is the court, the judgment seat and the throne of the Judge before the Last Judgment.” (Venerable John Climacus, Ladder, Homily 28, 1) “Prayer itself is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings for God - feelings of self-abasement, devotion, thanksgiving, glorification, forgiveness, zealous prostration, contrition,submission to the will of God, etc. All our concern should be that during our prayers these and similar feelings fill our soul, so that when the tongue reads prayers or the ear listens, and the body bows, the heart is not empty, but some feeling is present in it , directed towards God. When these feelings are present, our prayer is prayer, and when not, it is not yet prayer” (St. Theophan the Recluse, On Prayer, How to Pray, Lesson One) These definitions clearly indicate that prayer is a completely unique form connections between the natural and the supernatural, i.e. connection of a person with the Divine through the mechanism of attunement of the soul and all its forces (mind, feelings, will) to the corresponding created and uncreated divine energies, flowing in the form of three corresponding rays of grace, vitality and energy. Thus, from the point of view of the nature of the interaction of the soul with By God through the instrument of prayer, it is quite legitimate to say that prayer is a means of energetic “breathing” of the soul and its forces with the corresponding energies. “Breathing” in this case is understood, of course, metaphorically, as a mechanism of some kind of energetic influence on the soul of a cyclical nature according to the principle of input - output or “inhale - exhale”. “Prayer is spiritual breathing; When we pray, we breathe the Holy Spirit: we pray with the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20). So, all church prayers are the breath of the Holy Spirit, like spiritual air and at the same time spiritual fire, spiritual food and spiritual clothing. Prayer is the breath of the soul, like air, the natural breath of the body.” (St. John of Kronstadt, On Prayer, 32, 36) “The mother of all virtues is prayer: it can not only cleanse and nourish, but also enlighten and is able to make those who sincerely pray like the sun.” (Venerable Neil of Sinai, Creations, Part 1). Thus, prayer is in its essence not just a ritual or a formal attribute, but a sacred act and a vital need for the soul, thanks to which the soul feels the influence of the Holy Spirit. This influence of the Holy Spirit on the soul during prayer practice is the mystery of the union and conversation of the soul with God. “It [prayer] separates you from dumb animals, it unites you with the angels, and if anyone zealously tries to devote his whole life to prayers and service to God, then such a one will soon make their structure, and life, and behavior, and honor, and nobility, and wisdom, and reason his property. What could be holier than those talking with God? (St. John Chrysostom, On Prayer, Homily 2) From the point of view of the systemic nature of the relationship of all three forces of the soul (mind, feelings, will), the effect of prayer, as “verticalization”, should also concern all three forces of the soul, and therefore everything human nature (body, soul, spirit). The nature of changes in the cognitive state as a result of the use of prayer should be considered in two ways: - from the point of view of changes in each of the three parts and driving forces of the soul (mind, feelings, will) separately and - from the point of view of the general the nature of the change in the interaction of all these forces with each other, i.e. systems of their organization. In this regard, from the first point of view, prayer is the practice of purposefully changing “I-reflection” at the level of mind, feeling and will. In other words, “I am the mind”, “I am the feeling” and “I am the will”, which in the normal state (“horizontal”) are egocentric around the “I”, during prayer practice weaken the “I-reflection” into the corresponding “Not I” state. From another (systematic) point of view, during the prayer practice of “verticalization” there is not just a change in the direction vectors of all three forces of the soul, but a change in the very nature of perception and awareness. This happens because there is an effect of natural-supernatural “gathering” (compaction) of these forces, giving a different quality of consciousness and perception in integrity“I think-feel-desire”, which is felt as grace and clarity of mind. Thus, prayer is not only the practice of transferring the forces of the soul from a “horizontal” state to a “vertical” one, but also a practice of a qualitative change in consciousness and perception, which contributes to the development of a “vertical” way of thinking, as God-oriented. In other words, prayer is a kind of unique technology for profound changes in the qualitative state of the cognitive sphere due to a “vertical” change in the focus and locus of attention and perception. Moreover, it is obvious that the inevitable result of the transformation of consciousness from the state of “I” to the state of “Not Me” ", there should be an effect of weakening reflection and self-reflection caused by a steady change in the nature of the connections between the main forces of the soul - mind, feeling and will. In other words, prayer practice, among other things, is a means of weakening the position of the “I” (ego) as a centering the forces and foundations of ego reflection of consciousness. Thus, it is quite legitimate to consider prayer as a unique technology for weakening the position of “I” (ego), thanks to which consciousness gains practical experience of being in the “Not I” state, as a sacrificial state. We can say that during prayer practice there is a unique “stopping” effect » rational ego of the mind with a change in the entire system of perception, which from the perception of an external “bodily” state is rebuilt to an internal “mental-spiritual” perception. It is not difficult to understand that with the development of this prayer practice, the end result of a change in the forces of the soul can be the stability of the “vertical” locus of consciousness and perception, which will mean the acceptance by the previously separated mind, feeling and will of their original (collected) state of the trinity, which was characteristic of man before the Fall. That is why prayer practice is also the practice of gradually bringing the human soul into the natural, i.e. spiritual and moral state. This can be shown schematically as follows. Scheme of verticalization of the forces of the soul as a result of prayer practice As can be seen from this diagram, the “horizontal” state of everyday consciousness, in which the mind, feeling and will are in a separate state, in the prayer state changes to a “vertical” one in which all three forces of the soul (mind, feeling and will) pass from the fallen “I” state into their natural state “Not I”. In other words, as a result of prayer practice, a natural correction or “alignment” of all mental forces and thoughts of a person occurs , which from a confused and chaotic state gradually change their structure to a more ordered one. This process of step-by-step ordering and structuring (unraveling) the tangled “knots” of a person’s goals, objectives and life meanings in many religions and spiritual traditions is called “enlightenment” of consciousness. In the Christian tradition, this process is called “purification of the mind,” as the highest cognitive power of the soul. Scheme of vertical ordering of the structure of the mind It is not difficult to understand the general principle of “enlightenment” of the mind due to the gradual unraveling of certain contradictions and problems (knots) in the cognitive sphere of a person, during which the area of ​​chaos, distortion and shadow in consciousness decreases and the amount of light and throughput increases mind. As can be seen from the diagram, the end result of “cleansing the mind” is all the unraveled “knots”, as a result of which divine energies circulate in the soul without distortion. These three states can be conditionally correlated with three degrees of spiritual growth (novice, middle, perfection). The role of prayer practice in purifying the mind is that it helps to synchronize a person's mind withwith the divine mind and in the light of spiritual truth to resolve, i.e. to become aware of certain spiritual problems and contradictions. Speaking about cognitive changes during prayer practice, it should be noted that in the process of spiritual attunement (synergy) there is not only a switching of the entire system of apperception from the natural to the supernatural, but also an expansion of the locus and focus of consciousness. Easier speaking, in the course of prayer practice, a person’s mind switches from the natural to the supernatural (from the earthly to the divine), as if learning and training to relate the earthly and the divine (material and immaterial), as a result of which a natural process of deepening the understanding of the connection between the human and the divine occurs, both natural and supernatural. That is why prayer is both the practice of developing a sacrificial “Not I” consciousness and the practice of direct expansion and deepening of awareness. It can also be said that during prayer practice, human nature receives and develops the practical experience of being in the soul-spiritual quality of “Not I” "the natural state of man. That is why the role of prayer was so significant in the patristic tradition, which was the most effective means of deification on the path of spiritual salvation. In this regard, it is quite legitimate to say that prayer practice is the practice of improving the small and imperfect human mind through its synchronization and attunement (synergy) with the Divine Mind, as large and all-perfect. “Prayer is the ascension of the mind to God” (Abba Evagrius of Pontius, Word on Prayer, 36) “Prayer is the ascension of the mind and heart to God, expressed by a person’s reverent word to God. » (Orthodox Catechism, On Prayer, 387) From a psychological point of view, it is obvious that the main difficulty in turning the human mind to the Divine Mind is, first of all, the incompatibility in the characteristics of the human mind and the Divine mind. In this regard, a logical question arises about the fundamental conditions of such a connection. Answering this question, we can say that this combination is possible, but only on the condition that the small human mind, as passionate and damaged by egoism, changes its quality, freed from the influence of the corresponding passions (pride and vanity), which act as a means of distorting divine consciousness. And since the mind is associated with two other forces of the soul (feeling and will), also affected by passions, we are talking about liberation from passions not only of the mind, but of the entire human nature (body, soul and spirit). In this regard, relying on the light-father tradition , it can be argued that it is the passion of human nature, as a result of the Fall and damage to the human soul by selfishness (egoism), that is the most important obstacle to establishing a connection through the mind between man and God. Moreover, it is quite obvious that in order to establish a connection between these two minds and types of awareness (lowest and highest), qualitative changes must first of all, of course, undergo the human mind, as passionate, egocentric, linear, flat, rational, discrete, rough, etc., tightly tied to materiality (materiality). In this regard, from a psychological point of view, the practice of prayer can also be considered as a practice of refining the mind through the development of the so-called. non-reflective thinking and perception or “inner contemplation”. In the patristic tradition, the practice of purifying and refining the mind is called mental doing, while prayer is nothing more than a form of higher thinking. “Undistracted prayer is the highest thinking of the mind.” (Abba Evagrius of Pontus, A Word on Prayer, 35) In this regard, it becomes clear why one of the greatest ascetics and founders of patristic psychology, the Venerable Isaac the Syrian, considered prayer not only traditionalprayers and praises to God and the saints, but any in-depth contemplative and thoughtful reflections about God, contributing to the strengthening and development of “vertical” spiritual and moral consciousness. “We must know, beloved, that every conversation carried out in secret, every the care of a good mind for God, all reflection on the spiritual is established by prayer, and is called the name of prayer, and under this name it is brought together, whether you mean various readings, or the voice of the mouth in praise of God, or caring sorrow for the Lord, or bodily bowing, or psalmody. in poetry, or everything else from which the entire rite of genuine prayer is made up, from which the love of God is born; because love comes from prayer, and prayer comes from being a hermit.” (St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetic Words, Word 39) About the mechanism of weakening reflection and self-reflection. Speaking about the transcendental effect of prayer from the point of view of the paradigm of morally oriented Christian psychology, one cannot help but touch upon the question of the mechanism due to which a change in the quality of consciousness and perception occurs in the process prayer practice. This mechanism is based on the use of the basic function of attention, as a selective focus of perception and mind on a particular object. In relation to prayer, this means the possibility of changing the locus and focus of perception by force of will, followed by focusing attention and mind on God. Patristic tradition directly indicates that attention plays a key role in the technique of prayer and is its basis. “Attention that seeks prayer will find it, because it is prayer, and not anything else, that follows attention, and it is precisely this that one should zealously engage in.” ." (Abba Evagrius of Pontius, A Word on Prayer, 149) From this statement of one of the Church Fathers it clearly follows that in a state of attention, as a state of composure (concentration of all the forces of the soul), prayer is, as it were, a natural state that naturally follows from attention itself. Such Thus, prayer is a way and technique of concentrating all the forces of the soul and, above all, the power of the mind using the function of attention, which allows the soul to focus on God, while changing the “horizontal” locus of consciousness and perception to the “vertical” one, resulting in a natural weakening reflections of the ego of the mind with the activation of moral consciousness. Thus, prayer can be fully considered an effective technology and a tool for weakening reflection, as concentrating only on oneself and one’s own “I”. This is the original meaning of prayer, as a technology for “softening” the forces of the human soul. In accordance with the principle of weakening reflection (and self-reflection), the inevitable result of correct prayer (attentive) should be a feeling of a change in consciousness, which for some short time moves from the ego state to the natural one spiritual and moral state with the focus of the mind approaching God. As a result of prayer practice, the focus of consciousness rises above the world and becomes broader in its coverage of the phenomena of life, looking at oneself and the world as if from a more elevated point of “vision” (internal. Simply speaking, under the influence of prayer practice, the mind seems to rise above being, expanding the “vision” and understanding of the field of the meaning of life. This principle can be metaphorically correlated with an increase in the total area of ​​the light spot from some directional light source as it rises (elevation) above the object it illuminates and vice versa - reducing the area of ​​the light spot as it approaches the object. At the same time, the mind itself plays the role of this directed source of internal light. Expanding the locus of consciousness and perception during prayer practice As can be seen from this diagram, in the prayer state “Not Me,” the mind seems to elevate the point of its concentration relative to the previous private “loci” and gets the opportunity coverthe former disparate meanings of life in the overall integrity and unity of the semantic field. Thus, with the help of prayer practice, the mind develops the practical ability to increase the focus of perception of life to accommodate a larger number of events, phenomena and connections between them. This is the process of expanding consciousness. It is for this reason that after correct prayer (attentive and intelligent), the soul’s feeling of the integrity of itself with the experience of the state “think-feel-desire” is a completely natural and natural state. “As long as we stand in fervent prayer, until then and calm and warm and light and light at heart; because then we are with God and in God; and as soon as prayer left, temptations and various embarrassments came. Oh, blessed time of prayer!” (St. John of Kronstadt, On Prayer, 8) Accordingly, inattentive and formal prayer with the inability to renounce everyday thoughts can remain fruitless and not lead to corresponding changes in the strength of the soul. “Both after unworthy communion, and after unworthy, cold prayer, the same thing happens , bad at heart. This means that the Lord does not enter our hearts, offended by our heartfelt unbelief and coldness, and allows evil spirits to nest in our hearts in order to make us feel the difference between our yoke and theirs.” (St. John of Kronstadt, On Prayer, 133) As a wonderful metaphor for the concentrating effect of prayer, this effect can be compared to the concentration of the sun's rays into one point using a magnifying glass. “The burning glass then ignites wood or paper, or anything else that is combustible, when we will point it at the object in such a way that the rays of the sun, concentrated at the focus of the glass, are all concentrated on one point of the ignited object, with their entire aggregate acting on it, and thus, as if the entire sun in a reduced form is placed on the object. So in prayer, then our soul warms up, enlivens and ignites with the intelligent Sun - God, when with our mind, like a burning glass, we point this mental Sun at the heart, as a spiritual point in our being, and when It acts on the heart with all By His simplicity and His power.” (St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ, Vol. 1, 224) Summarizing the psychological component of the effect of prayer, we can say that it is associated, first of all, with two most important phenomena and properties of the perception system - apperception: the unique ability of the human mind to switch from some objects, phenomena and processes to others and the unique ability of human attention to focus on any objects, phenomena and processes. From these principles of concentration of the mind with the help of prayer, it follows that the longer a particular object, phenomenon or process is in the sphere of human attention, the more a strong and stable connection is formed in the soul with this object, phenomenon and process. In relation to prayer, this means that the more time the category of God (Trinity) is in the sphere of human attention and mind, the more stable the connection that arises in a person becomes with God. In other words, according to the already known dialectical rule that one phenomenon and another phenomenon, when a stable connection is established between them, become a single phenomenon, it follows that prayer is an effective technology of deification, which helps to establish a direct connection between a person and God, both natural and supernatural. In this regard, it becomes more clear why for any prayer practice the fundamentally important conditions are the appropriate mental attitude, which presupposes reverence, utmost sincerity, utmost attention, utmost detachment, utmost concentration and regularity of practice. From the nature of the connection through the mind of man and God and the consciousness-expanding effect of prayer flows naturally and the main purpose of prayer is notbegging to God, but the development of a spiritual and moral (“vertical”) consciousness of life and oneself through constant retention in consciousness of the thought of God. In this case, we are talking about the development of a unique ability of the mind and, after the prayer practice itself, to maintain a “vertical” locus of consciousness, as a constant presence of a part mind in a prayerful state. Speaking about prayer practice, one cannot help but say that the most difficult thing in it for the rational mind is precisely the initial moment of its “stopping” and “gathering” for reorientation with the help of attention to God. This process of primary reorientation of the rational mind (reason) requires simply colossal volitional, spiritual and mental efforts on the part of a person, and therefore presupposes an appropriate environment and conditions, both external and internal. Speaking about the internal conditions of preparation for prayer, we can say that this problem found its solution in the patristic tradition in the form corresponding correct mental attunement to prayer. The essence of this setting is known as the state of “poverty of spirit” and consists in the ability of the mind to enter the so-called. a repentant state of a person’s understanding of his unworthy and fallen (sinful) state before the perfection of God. “Prayer is a constant feeling [awareness] of one’s weakness or spiritual poverty, sanctification of the soul, anticipation of future bliss, angelic bliss, heavenly rain, refreshing, watering and fertilizing the earth of the soul , strength and strength of soul and body, refreshment and purification of the mental air, enlightenment of the face, joy of the spirit, the golden connection connecting creation with the Creator, cheerfulness and courage in all the sorrows and temptations of life, success in business, equal angelic dignity, affirmation of faith, hope and love." (St. John of Kronstadt, On Prayer, 4) The repentant state in prayer practice plays the role of the joy of creating a prerequisite for the “flow” of grace, which, like a kind of “blessed liquid”, can flow from one vessel to another only on the condition that the vessel receiving it will be below the level of the giver. Speaking about the technology of prayer practice, one cannot help but touch upon the emotional and sensory side of the problem associated with the manifestations of certain feelings and emotions that a person experiences. The entry of the mind into a repentant state, associated with the awareness of one’s own depravity and damage by egoism, inevitably gives rise to a contrite feeling in the soul and is accompanied by emotional effects (self-reproach, amazement, remorse, frenzy, crying, etc.). Manifestation of natural sensuality and emotionality in the form of heartfelt crying and tears of repentance, as evidence of deep and sincere repentance before God, is not something shameful, but, on the contrary, is evidence of the sincerity of feelings and emotions at the moment of prayer. “First of all, pray for the gift of tears, in order to soften through contrition the rudeness existing in your soul and, having confessed your iniquities to the Lord (Ps. 31:5), receive forgiveness from Him. Use your tears to carry out every request. For the Lord rejoices greatly over you when you pray with tears.” (Abba Evagrius of Pontius, Homily on Prayer, 5, 6) Thus, from the point of view of the paradigm of morally oriented Christian psychology, one of the most important conditions for the effectiveness of prayer is an appropriate mental attitude, utmost sincerity, attention during prayer and regularity of prayer practice. These conditions allow the practitioner of prayer, on the one hand, to gradually learn* the technique of entering a prayerful state, and on the other hand, to maintain or maintain the correct prayerful attitude, as a “vertical” state of mind, for as long as possible. Note: This writing does not set itself the goals and objectives of teaching the technique prayers, since this is a deeply personal issue that is resolved exclusively from heart to heart inrelationship between a spiritual mentor and his spiritual child. Speaking about teaching prayer practice, it should be noted that technologically this is a highly complex, or rather multi-complex process, requiring the mobilization and coordination of all mental forces (mind, feelings and will). That is why the process of practical mastery of all stages of the art of prayer must go under the control of a priest or confessor (spiritual mentor) and in accordance with the guidelines and instructions of the holy fathers. The entire period of mastering prayer practice, by analogy with the three stages of the ascetic’s ascent to mental and spiritual perfection, can be conditionally correlated with the following periods: the initial period of learning prayer practice, the period the middle and the period of perfection. These three basic stages of ascent up the spiritual ladder in the most general form reflect the depth of those changes in the mental and spiritual structure of a person that are associated with bringing the mind, feelings and will to a natural spiritual and moral state. “The three ranks in which a person prospers: the rank of beginners, the rank of intermediate and the rank of perfect. And whoever is in the first rank, although the way of thinking is inclined towards good, the movement of the mind is nevertheless in passions. The second rank is something between the state of passion and dispassion, and the spiritual and spiritual thoughts are equally aroused in a person, and, as already said, he does not cease to exude both light and darkness.” (Venerable Isaac the Syrian, Ascetic Words, Word 66) “The beginning of mental prayer is the cleansing action or power of the Holy Spirit, and the mysterious sacred action of the mind, as the beginning of silence - abolition from everything or carelessness; the middle is the enlightening power (of the Spirit) and contemplation, and the end is frenzy or rapture of the mind towards God.” (Philokalia, Vol. 5, St. Gregory of Sinaite, On commandments and dogmas, threats and promises, 111) At the initial stage of mastering prayer practice, the so-called technique is taught. “vocal” or verbal prayer with the ability to begin with only weakening the self-reflection of consciousness and abstracting from external stimuli associated with the influence of lower bodily feelings. “Prayer in beginners is, like the fire of joy, exploding from the heart; and in the perfect, like a fragrant light, it acts within.” (Philokalia, Vol. 5, St. Gregory of Sinaite, On commandments and dogmas, threats and promises, 113) At the middle stage of learning prayer techniques, there is a transition to a technique of deeper and more concentrated “attentive-smart” prayer with the ability to fully concentrate on prayer practice with the connection of the mind and heart to the process of prayer. At this stage, a special skill and practice is developed to consolidate the “vertical” locus of consciousness and perception with the subsequent activation of two loci of perception simultaneously, “vertical” and “horizontal”. The completion of this stage is the development of the so-called. unceasing prayer, which does not seem to stop for a moment, but constantly emanates from the depths of the heart. At the stage of perfection*, the most complex technique of “spiritual” or rapturous prayer is taught with the ability to enter the inner space (cage) of the soul and remain in the spiritual ( supernatural) state outside one’s own body. The technique of entering the inner space of the soul is also known as placing the mind in the heart. This stage is also called the stage of acquiring sacred prayer. Note: As previously stated, this writing does not address the aspect of moving from a mental state to a spiritual state (holiness). The process of developing the skill of prayer can be conditionally correlated with the process of increasing the degree of “illumination” of the inner space of the soul with some internal grace-filled spiritual light, providing breadth and clarity of mind, whereas in the usual (i.e. everyday and vain) state of this space of light and peace in the soul no. “If the soul does not perceive that the KingdomGod came into her and reigned in her, there is no hope of salvation for her.” (St. Simeon the New Theologian, Creations, Vol. 1, Word 44) ​​Conventional diagram of the growth of inner light in the soul at various stages of prayer practice Speaking about prayer practice, one cannot help but touch upon the aspect of direct contemplation of God, which is the most convincing confirmation of the achievement of perfection in the course of mastering prayer techniques. We deliberately avoid any attempts to describe and explain this phenomenon and artifact due to its absolute supernatural nature, which defies psychological understanding and description. At the same time, in the patristic tradition there is a description of a similar experience *: “I know a person in the neighborhood who feels the taste of these flashes of lightning. But, although the mysterious insight instantly flashes through his mind and departs, nevertheless, the flash of joy from this insight and the taste of it lasts a long time, and the silence resulting from this, long after it has gone, is diffused in his thinking; also the state of the body and the members of the body becomes peaceful, and they feel great relaxation; and the joy of enjoying this miracle is marked at the highest moment on his mental lips.” (Venerable Isaac the Syrian, On Divine Mysteries and Spiritual Life, Homily 20, 20)* From a psychological point of view, what is interesting in this description is that Saint Isaac the Syrian here writes about himself in the third person, i.e. from the “Not Me” state. It should definitely be said that learning prayer practice is a very complex and lengthy process, which must be carried out under the guidance of an experienced spiritual mentor, perfect in prayer practice. “It is impossible for anyone to study the science of virtues on their own, although some have used their experience as a teacher. By themselves, and not by advice, those who have improved in their activities usually have, or, better yet, create [in themselves] self-conceit.” (St. Gregory of Sinaite, On silence and two forms of prayer. 15 chapters, 15) For our rational time and state, as deeply fallen morally and spiritually, mastering the practice of prayer even to the average state of heartfelt prayer is the highest spiritual achievement of a person and evidence of many years regular prayer practice. If you try to classify the types or stages of prayer from the point of view of the levels of immersion of the mind in the area of ​​the soul-spiritual, then it may look something like this: - vowel, (verbal), - mental (attentive), - heartfelt (mental-attentive ), - spiritual (contemplative) - sacred (admired). Each of these types of prayer symbolizes nothing more than the depth of change and transformation of the soul, by bringing the focus of the mind closer to the soul-spiritual and divine. This is, in fact, the answer to the question of why prayer in the Christian tradition and practice is the highest gift , the main means, the main technique and essentially the basis of the technology of spiritual salvation. “Prayer is the correction of life, the mother of heartfelt contrition and tears; strong motivation for works of mercy; safety of life: destruction of mortal fear; neglect of earthly treasures, desire for heavenly blessings, expectation of the universal Judge, general resurrection and life of the next century; intense efforts to get rid of eternal torment; constant seeking of mercy from the Lord; walking in the sight of God; blissful disappearance before the all-creating and all-fulfilling Creator; living water of the soul; prayer is the placement of love in the hearts of all people; bringing heaven down into the soul; containing the Holy Trinity in the heart, according to what has been said, we will come to him and make an abode with him (John 14:23)...” (St. John of Kronstadt, On Prayer, 4) “Prayer is a conversation of the mind with God. What state must the mind achieve so that it is able to invariably reach out to its Master and converse with Him without any intermediary? “Of course, every virtue done for the sake of Christ gives the grace of the Holy Spirit, but most of all it gives prayer,